Tap OPA expertise in nation building - Prof. Indraratna

Professionals are an essential link and ingredient of the development process of a country. They add value and contribute to the GDP and growth of its economy. The OPA has the expertise in every sphere which the Government can tap and enlist in its task of nation building. The OPA is always ready to help the Government in this task, said Prof. Indraratna, the 29th President of the OPA.

Archt. Plnr. L. T. Kiringoda, General Secretary OPA (partly covered), Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor of the Central Bank, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Minister of Mass Media and Information, Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development and Chief Government Whip, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prof. A. D. V. de S. Indraratna, President of the OPA, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage at the event.

He was speaking at the new OPA President's induction at the BMICH recently.

The OPA, the umbrella organization of 43-member associations covers every recognized profession in the country and comprises over 50,000 professionals. We have enough expertise and experts in the country. We do not have to import foreign experts. There should be better recognition of professionals by the Government by at least making provision for a professional park in the country, as in other countries such as Malaysia. There should be a synergic and symbiotic relation between us, the professionals and the Government, he said.

The Government has launched the Nagenahira Navodaya and Uthuru Wasanthaya. The cessation of hostilities has opened several new opportunities as well, he said.

Firstly, with the liberation of one-third of the country's territory and two-thirds of the sea coast from the clutches of terrorists, a vast amount of additional land, forestry and fishery and other marine resources have been made available for overall development. Secondly, increased connectivity between the North and the East and the South has made accelerated development possible. Thirdly, the release of the Armed Forces from the battlefield could create a vast pool of skilled manpower for development. The Government must utilize these opportunities to fight the socio-economic war against unemployment, poverty and environment pollution while sustaining development at a higher level than hitherto, he said.

Linkages between the North-East and the South should also be strengthened through better infrastructure facilities and marketing arrangements for each other's products. The development of the SME sector should be given priority as an industrialisation strategy. The potential for tourism must be fully harnessed through the provision of facilities for the private sector to invest heavily in it, he said.